Clothing Storage Tips

Decluttering your wardrobe is an ongoing process. I’ve been working on getting to a place where I’m happy with every piece of clothing I own for the past few months, and I think I’m basically there at this point.

In the process, I’ve moved from hanging most of my clothes to folding it. The only things I hang now are my coats, dresses, and skirts. All other clothing, I fold neatly based on its category. This works really well for me because I have a relatively small closet compared to the amount of drawer space I have.

While figuring out what clothes to get rid of and what to keep, I’ve learned quite a few things. Here are some of my tips when it comes to decluttering and reorganizing your closet/clothing storage space:

Go through every single item in your closet. I know this might seem a little tedious, but make sure you’ve seen and thought about every item you’re currently storing in your closet. Are there things in there that should actually be stored somewhere else? Are there pieces of clothing you haven’t worn in a couple of years? These are the sorts of things you don’t want to put back into your closet. Also, if you notice that you own some pieces that don’t match anything else you own, these are probably things you should get rid of. Although they might be great pieces, they don’t match your typical style, so you won’t really ever wear them. Or you’ll have to buy something specifically so it matches that piece.

Speaking of which, it can be helpful to come up with a specific type of style or even a color scheme. Try to figure out what sort of clothing you tend to wear or buy while you’re cleaning out your closet or shopping for any new clothes. If you tend to wear certain colors, this can be helpful because you’ll be able to form a variety of outfits with the same few pieces. Think about this as you’re sorting through your clothing. You might have a couple random shirts or dresses that don’t match anything else.

Color coordinate while organizing. This is something I’d tried before, but it works a lot better when there is more space for the clothes to breathe. After decluttering, it was a lot easier to organize everything based on color. Everything in my closets and almost everything in my drawers is organized based on its color. Blacks, blues, greens, and pinks. That way, when I’m trying to put an outfit together I can just focus on one section of a drawer or of my closet.

Separate casual clothing from dressier clothing. This way, you’ll be able to only focus on clothes that matches the occasion while you’re getting ready. I keep nicer shirts in a different drawer from t-shirts, for example. I also keep jeans separate from nicer pants, although they’re all in the same drawer. I even separate dresses based on whether I view them as casual or more formal.

Put away any clothing that isn’t season appropriate. If it’s summer, you don’t need to have your sweaters, jackets, or any other type of winter clothing to be in plain view. Move it to the back of your closet or drawer or stick it in a box until you’ll need it again. Once the season changes, pull out your winter clothing and put away any clothes that is only summer appropriate. This way, everything that is on immediate display is weather appropriate.